Florida prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz, the former student accused of murdering 17 people in a shooting spree last month at a Parkland high school, according to a notice filed in court on Tuesday.
Michael Satz, the state attorney for Broward County, filed the notice with Judge Elizabeth Scherer of his office's intent to seek the death sentence, ahead of a court hearing on Wednesday.
The notice cited multiple reasons under Florida law for the death penalty. Those included the charges that Cruz "knowingly created a great risk of death" to many people, the shooting was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel," and it was committed in a "cold, calculated and premeditated manner."